In the original novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan’s African estate is located in two different primary regions.
The Original Location: Uziri (Central/West Africa)
- In early books like The Return of Tarzan and The Beasts of Tarzan, Tarzan establishes his headquarters in a region called Uziri.
- This was the land of the Waziri tribe, a fictional group of fierce warriors who became Tarzan’s loyal allies and "cavalry."
- Maps of Burroughs' fictional Africa typically place Uziri in Portuguese Angola near the border of the Begian Congo.
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| Tarzan's Africa |
| Although ERB does not say so, it is generally accepted by fans that Tarzan and the Portuguese Angola Waziri tribe relocated to the Waziri homeland in British East Africa. |
- This estate was a massive plantation featuring imported livestock, a flower-covered bungalow, and proximity to the German East Africa border (modern-day Tanzania), which played a major role in the plot when German soldiers attacked the estate.
While it is mentioned in passing in many books as his home base, it is featured most prominently or suffers destruction in the following titles:
- This is where the estate is first established.
- After Tarzan helps the Waziri tribe defeat Arab raiders, they adopt him as their king.
- He builds his headquarters in their
- The territory (Uziri), which at this point is located in Central/West Africa (near the Portuguese Angola and Belgium Congo border according to ERB's descriptions).
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| The Return Of Tarzan |
The Beasts Of Tarzan
In The Beasts of Tarzan the African estate is described as a vast, prosperous ranch located in the land of the Waziri (
- It is situated in Uziri, the territory of the Waziri warriors. Tarzan chose this location because he had previously been adopted by the tribe and served as their war chief.
- The West African estate is a "flower-covered bungalow." It is described as a comfortable, civilized home with many of the amenities of a European house, yet it is surrounded by the wild African jungle.
- The estate is a "well-ordered African farm." It features barns, outhouses, and high fences designed to protect imported, pedigreed stock (such as sheep) from local predators.
- The Portuguese Angola estate represents Tarzan’s attempt to blend his life as an English Lord with his love for the African wilderness. It is staffed by loyal Waziri warriors and servants.
- In this story ERB revealed that Tarzan, Jane, and their infant son John Clayton III, Jack/Korak, have temporarily returned to London to escape the "discomforts and dangers of the rainy season" on their Portuguese Angola estate. The Greystoke's migrated to England during the wet season even after resetting in British East Africa.
- The wealth used to build and maintain their farm largely came from the gold the ape-man retrieved from the lost city of Opar in the previous novel The Return of Tarzan.
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| Frank Frazetta |
The Son Of Tarzan
In Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel The Son of Tarzan, the jungle lord's plantation (referred to as the Waziri estate) serves as a symbol of the dual life he leads—balancing the refined Lord Greystoke with the "King of the Apes."
Here is how the novel depicts and discusses the plantation:
The Domestic Ideal
The plantation is portrayed as a sprawling, "well-ordered African farm" in British East Africa
- The Bungalow as a flower-covered home that provides a civilized sanctuary for Jane and Tarzan.
- Tarzan takes great pride in his "imported, pedigreed stock," including sheep and cattle, which are protected by high fences and the fierce Waziri warriors who serve as his friends and employees.
- To the outside world, it is the estate of a wealthy British aristocrat, but to the locals and those "in the know," it is the territory of Tarzan.
A Place of Law and Order
The plantation is not just a farm; it is the seat of the jungle lord's power.
- Hunting Rights: The novel notes that safaris must seek Tarzan's permission to hunt in the territory. The ape-man enforces strict laws regarding the treatment of animals and native people.
- For Meriem, Jack's future wife, the estate becomes a place of refuge. The King of the jungle rescues her and brings her there, where she lives under the protection of the Greystokes while believing her beloved Korak (Jack) is dead.
The Source of Jack's/ Longing
- Early in the book, when the family is living in London, the African plantation is mentioned as a "forbidden" subject.
- Jack, Tarzan’s son, learns of his father’s African estates only through "careless remarks dropped at home."
- Jane purposely keeps Jack away from Africa, fearing he will succumb to the "call of the wild."
The Contrast of the Jungle
The novel highlights the plantation as a middle ground. While the deep jungle is a place of "nakedness and fear and suffering," the plantation represents British Lord's ability to tame a piece of that wildness and turn it into a productive, peaceful home.
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| Tarzan & Korak |
Tarzan And The Jewels Of Opar
| While Tarzan is away on an expedition to the lost city of Opar to replenish his family fortune, the estate is attacked by a band of Arab raiders and a rogue Belgian officer. |
- The plantation is burned, many Waziri warriors are killed, and Jane is kidnapped. This book highlights the vulnerability of the estate despite its fierce protectors.
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| Joe Jusko |
In the novel The Eternal Lover (also known as The Eternal Savage), the jungle lord's African plantation is described as a transition point between his wild origins and his life as a civilized English lord.
The Eternal Lover is not a primary Tarzan novel, but it is very important to the storyline because it provides a very detailed description of jungle lord's settled life in Africa.
- The spring 1913 story now describes the estate as being located in the land of the Waziri (Uziri) in British East Africa.
- The estate had now turned into a blend of a working farm and a luxurious wilderness retreat.
- The farm is described as a "low, rambling bungalow" covered in flowers. It now serves as the primary residence for Tarzan and Jane.
- ERB calls it a "hunter’s paradise." The narrative emphasizes that guests at the estate spend their days seeking "game and adventure," returning to the comfort of the bungalow in the evenings.
- The estate does not just exist as a a single house. It includes "barns and outhouses of a well-ordered African farm." This highlights the jungle lord's attempt to bring European agricultural structure to British East Africa.
- The plantation is protected and maintained by the Waziri warriors, who have a deep bond of loyalty with the Big Bawana. Even the Waziri are becoming more civilized and are shown tending to the grounds and even caring for Jane's rose garden .
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| Tarzan's British East Africa Estat |
- This book contains the most famous and devastating attack on the estate.
- Set during World War I, a unit of German soldiers from German East Africa (Tanganyika) raids the estate while Tarzan is away.
- The estate is completely razed to the ground.
- Tarzan returns to find a charred body wearing Jane’s rings, leading him to believe she is dead (she was actually kidnapped).
- One of his closest Waziri friends, Wasimbu, is found crucified.
- This leads to Tarzan’s "untamed" phase, where he wages a one-man war against the German army in East Africa.
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| Joe Jusko |
- Following the end of the war and the events of Tarzan the Terrible, Tarzan and Jane return home.
- The estate is shown being painstakingly rebuilt by the surviving Waziri and an English foreman named Jervis.
- Much of the book focuses on Tarzan raising his pet lion, Jad-bal-ja, on the newly restored grounds.
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| Corey Furman |
Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy Under Siege
- In this authorized 2011 novel by Ralph N. Laughlin and Ann E. Johnson (set in the 1980s), the estate is demolished again by a guerrilla militia, forcing the aging Tarzan and his descendants to fight for their legacy once more
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| Jamie Chase |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Michael Moody is a lifelong fan and collector of Edger Rice Burroughs. Over the past forty-five years, Moody has contributed over two hundred articles to various ERB-related fanzines. He also manages an unauthorized Tarzan blog titled Greystoke Chronologist: James Michael Moody. There, the researcher chronologies the Tarzan books starting in May 1872 (known as the pushback theory) instead of the more accepted date, May 1888.
James Michael Moody also authorizes the action-packed Sci-Fi fantasy adventure Unium series. Pioneers On Unium, published December 31, 2019, Exiled On Unium, published August 25, 2022, and Swordsman On Unium, published on July 15, 2024.
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